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Commercial organisation

Bank

National Australia Bank

Bank formed by the merger of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney and the National Bank of Australasia in 1982. By a series of mergers and acquisitions it has become one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia.

Hughes, Thomas

Commercial Banking Company Building

Former bank offices in Commercial Palazzo style reflecting the return of building confidence in the 1920s. Originally part of the site of the first military barracks and parade ground, the premises were lavishly decorated with marble and wrought iron, being planned in stages to allow the bank to keep operating on the site as they had done since the 1850s. It is now occupied by a variety of retail and business tenants.

Economy

With the arrival of Europeans, the traditional economy of Aboriginal clans was disrupted, and gave way to the convict economy of the Commissariat and government stores. But this closed economy was soon opened by free settlement, whaling and sealing, shipping and farming success, making Sydney the port for a vast hinterland. Depressions and booms alternated, bringing poverty and prosperity to the city. Sydney's growth and diversity mean that regional economies now exist within the Sydney region.

Parramatta

Named for its traditional owners, the Burramattagal, Parramatta was the site of the second European settlement in Sydney, and an early successful farm. Until the 1850s many governors preferred to live in Parramatta Government House. The railway arrived in 1857 and the town became prosperous, with its own suburbs by the 1870s, business and industrial districts, and large medical and educational institutions.

Scots

Scots have been in Sydney from earliest European contact, with Forby Sutherland, a young Scottish crew member on the Endeavour, buried at Sutherland in 1770. Scots have played important roles in all facets of Sydney's history. While the Scots can seem to be 'invisible immigrants', without a clearly distinctive culture, Scottish professions, industry, religion and education have been influential in Sydney's development since the arrival of the First Fleet.

Glenrock

Glenrock, the home of the Smith and Whistler Smith families from the 1840s, was replaced by a later building that is, along with Fiona, now part of Ascham.